Ricky
by Lynne Porcelain
Summary: Richard Watterson, a 26-year-old rabbit, is trying to come to terms with the news that his girlfriend is pregnant. He's more than happy about it. But will his best friend share his enthusiasm when he finds out?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, Lynne here. This story takes place around twelve years before the show begins. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Amazing World of Gumball.**

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The lights of downtown Elmore were just beginning to shine as the smiling sun disappeared over the horizon. It cast shadows on the neon-lit streets, full of takeout places and pawn shops. Above one of these shops, adjacent to the busy railway line, sat a rather cramped one-bedroom apartment. It was full of rubbish. Job rejection letters strewn all over the floor, clothes tossed haphazardly onto chairs, and grease stains on the kitchen counter that also served as the dining table. This made it all the more tragic that just a few hundred metres away was the start of the sprawling suburbs. The houses in that area mas as well have been mansions to the occupants of this apartment. An impossible dream.

The entire apartment was filled with the irritating hum of a dirty microwave. Leftover noodles boiled away in a container clearly not suited for microwave use, as shown by the way it was bending and warping with the heat. Still, they made do. It was all they had. Times had been pretty rough, and with last night's revelation, they knew it wasn't going to get any easier.

A young blue feline sat on the unmade bed, bare feet swinging back and forth over the edge. She had bags under her eyes and her complexion was noticeably paler than usual. She didn't sleep at all last night. How could she when she was having to contend with frequent trips to the bathroom and that overwhelming sense of dread? The stick mocked her from the nightstand. Neither of them had touched it since the result had showed. Disbelief had struck them at first, followed by hours of discussion and contemplation. Could they afford this? Did she want this responsibility? Wouldn't it get in the way of her dreams to be rich and successful? Why was she still following her parents' bad advice months after she had run away?

Whether she liked it or not, Nicole Senicourt was going to be a mother.

DING

"Ah, tres bien!" Her boyfriend, a rotund pink rabbit, danced around the kitchen.

Grabbing a couple of graphic tees off of the couch, he slipped them onto his huge mitts and carefully extracted their meal from the microwave. Noodle juice splashed onto his tartan flannel as he sloppily poured his prize into two coffee mugs. He sauntered over towards his partner and held one of the mugs under her sensitive feline nose. He had always found the way it twitched to be absolutely adorable.

"Dinner is served!" He proclaimed, receiving a wry smile for his culinary efforts.

Nicole took her mug and stared at its contents. "Thank you, dear."

"Cheers!"

They clinked their mugs together and, as was tradition at this point, he drank the contents of his in one fell swoop. His girlfriend watched in awe. She had initially rejected the gesture, but eventually came around to it after he pointed out that not using cutlery saved on the washing up. While that was technically true, Nicole settled for using a spork. She ate in small, hesitant bites. The blue cat could throw up again at any moment and she really didn't want to waste any more food. Not after the porridge incident this morning. They'd spent hours cleaning that up.

"Richard…"

"Yes, honey?" He wiped the remnants of noodle juice from around his mouth with his sleeve.

"I want to keep it."

Richard was halfway back to the sink when he heard her. "That's fine by me. Whatever you decide to do, we can make it work. I'll land a job eventually, and your office has pretty good…" He trailed off, unable to remember the proper term, "Pregnancy care… Stuff."

Nicole flinched. "Please don't say that word."

"What word?"

"The p-word."

The rabbit rinsed his mug out and placed it on the side. "What, pregnant?"

"Yes, that word." The cat massaged her temple with her paws. "I need more time to get used to all of this. I'll be fine with it eventually, but for now, let's use a code name."

"Ooh… How about Alpha? Gamma? Omega?"

"Let's just say ill, okay? My parents would buy that."

"Uh… Sure. When are you thinking of letting them know?" Richard asked.

"I'm not telling them. I haven't spoken to them in six months and I'm going for the world record." Nicole gave a hollow laugh. "But if they somehow find out where we're staying, and they decide to make an unannounced visit…"

Richard sat on the bed beside his partner and draped an arm around her shoulders. "They won't. I promise."

"But if they do, then that will be a good enough cover. I mean, hey, I'm throwing up."

"You're going to throw up?" The rabbit spoke in a panicked tone. "Where's the vomit mug?"

"No. What about your mother?" Nicole turned the tables on her boyfriend.

"Oh, I called her while you were asleep."

"What?" She tensed up. "Already?"

"She told me to phone home if anything big happened, and this is kinda the biggest thing that's ever happened to me. Apart from meeting you, of course…" Richard stammered.

"Richard, we've been over this. This place, our apartment, is our home. That house you used to live in is your mother's house." Now it was her turn to console him. "Are you still homesick…?"

"A little. But it's okay. She told me that with a baby on the way, I've definitely got to learn to look after myself now. That was probably the only nice thing she said last night, coming to think of it. Everything else was going on and on about how irresponsible we are, and how she was right about you being a-"

"Stop." Nicole held a hand up to his face. "I've heard enough."

"Okay…" Richard pulled her into a soft hug.

A familiar knock startled both Elmoreans. Richard muted the telenovela he was watching and trudged over to the door. He had to step over numerous piles of clothes and boxes of things they still hadn't unpacked on the way there. He opened it to reveal a fluffy cloud-man with nearly waist-length hair left untied, stray hairs sticking to his multicoloured poncho. The guest grinned from ear to ear.

"Ricky! Come here, man!" He gestured towards himself, and the pair shared a tight hug. "How's it hanging?"

"We're doing fine." The rabbit replied casually.

Richard was the first to let go. It looked like the guest would need some coercing to do the same. "Uh, Steve? I can't close the door with you wrapped around me like this."

"Right! Sorry, sorry…" Steve mumbled. He shucked off his sandals and made his way inside.

"Hi, Steve!" Nicole greeted from the bed, patting the spot on the quilt next to her.

"Nah, I'm good." The cloud-man instead decided to flop down onto one of the chairs, folding one leg over the other.

The fact that he was sitting on dirty clothes didn't seem to bother him. The front door slammed shut and Richard came back to take his usual spot on the bed next to Nicole.

Steve broke the ice. "So, are you guys coming out tonight? It's twenties night down at Smokey's, and I found these super cheap ballgowns at the thrift shop. What do you say?"

Richard shook his head. "Not tonight, sorry. We're both pretty tired."

"Having a night in? That's fine by me. We can eat some brownies and watch Captain Lunar." Steve eyed the anime VHS tapes lined up on the shelf above the TV.

Richard dug under the bed and fished out a shoe box which he promptly handed to his best friend.

That smile from earlier came back in spades. "All right! Who gets first pick?" His red eyes darted between the rabbit and his girlfriend.

The two in a relationship shared a look, before Richard stated, "It's all yours."

"Woah, man! You're giving me your stash? What's the occasion? Christmas isn't for, like, another two months!"

"We can't do anything with it now, so you might as well have it. Well, I can't, anyway." Nicole explained.

"Aw, come on. I thought you were cool!" Steve protested.

The cat sighed. "No, we are, it's just… We talked it over last night and we decided it would be best if we stopped."

Now Steve was homing in on his best friend. "Ricky, you let her talk you into this? What happened to you, man?"

Richard held his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry, but we're doing it for a very good reason."

"And what's that?" The cloud-man crossed his arms. "Scared of your Mom finding your stash again?"

"I'm pregnant, Steven."

Nicole's words hit him like a bullet to the stomach. The feeling only worsened the longer the uncomfortable silence went on. He tried to deny it at first, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But he knew that she was telling the truth. He had tried not to notice the stick laying on the nightstand when he first walked in. Talking about anything but the elephant in the room helped him pretend that it wasn't happening. It wasn't real.

But it was. Richard had already chosen her over him, and now with this news, he felt like his heart was breaking for a second time. All those feelings he had tried so hard to bury… Now they were back, stronger than ever. He felt numb. He wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Steve was too shocked to do anything except stare blankly out of the window where the trains would go by. He wished one would show up now to help break the tension, but luck wasn't on his side tonight.

"Oh, uh, congratulations, you two…" He spoke in a monotone voice.

His legs carried him out of the door, and then he was gone. He didn't even take the shoebox with him. The young couple just sat there, bewildered.

Nicole turned to her boyfriend and half-whispered, "Is he alright?"

"Oh, yeah. He's just bummed that we can't go out tonight, that's all." Richard shrugged and unmuted the television. "Want some coffee?"

"Sure." The cat spoke sweetly. "Just make sure not to use the vomit mug this time."

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**A/N: This was originally going to be a much longer story but I thought it would work better as a oneshot. Did you like it? Leave a review and tell me what you think. Until next time... - Lynne**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! Lynne here. This was supposed to be a oneshot, but I decided to add an epilogue. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Amazing World of Gumball.**

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Smokey's. The most popular gay bar in Elmore on a Saturday night. The place was packed with people of all shapes and sizes. People giggling around bottles of wine in booths, people getting some fresh air in the bar's garden, and people on the dancefloor, clapping along to the performers on stage. There was a band on tonight, but it was the dancers who took up centre stage. They linked arms and kicked out as they sang along to some old showtune. Eight of them in a row.

The ninth was currently sulking at the bar. Steve had gone through with buying the dress anyway. Even if he couldn't go with Ricky and Nicole, he told himself, he was determined to have a good time. However, anxiety had struck him during the interval and he refused to go back on stage. The songs they were singing hit too close to home and he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of a hundred people.

Four empty cocktail glasses lined the table in front of him, and he was working on his fifth. Such odd behaviour caught the attention of the bartender, a young rock-man, another former classmate of Steve's. He finished polishing his glass and, seeing as there were no other customers to serve right now, he decided to approach the cloud figure.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Steve muttered, seeing his old school friend standing over him. "Oh, hey, Larry… What's up?"

"I was about to ask you the same. You haven't said a word to anyone since you came off that stage. Usually you'd have your shirt off on the dancefloor right now." Larry noted.

Steve finished off his glass of mocktail and looked away. "You wouldn't understand, man…"

"Bad trip?" The rock-man tutted. "I've told you, you've got to stop doing that. It's gonna mess everything up, and you'll be stuck working dead-end jobs for the rest of your life."

"What, like you?" Steve forced a smirk.

"I'm serious. I worry about you sometimes."

"I'll figure something out. And no, I haven't done anything since Wednesday. It's not because of that.

Larry tilted his head to one side. "Then what _is _it about? Spill your guts, I'm here until 3AM."

Steve took a few moments to compose himself. "… Dream's dead."

"What?"

"The dream… Is dead."

Larry pinched the bridge of his non-existent nose. "You know, I can't help you if you won't be more specific. Are you _sure _you didn't do something in the bathroom before the show?"

"Are illicit substances really my entire personality to you?" The cloud-man shot him a withering look.

Larry was quick to back off. "No, no, not at all!"

"He knocked her up."

"Again, specifics… And why would you get upset about something like that, anyway?"

"Ricky."

Larry facepalmed. "Are you serious? Let it go! It was ten years ago! Just move on. There's plenty of people in here tonight who could help you with that."

"It's hard _to move on _when you've been a third wheel for a decade. We did everything together. And now that's it, you know? Game over, man!" Steve explained.

"That doesn't mean you can't still hang out with them. Just lay off the you-know-what until it's born. He _is _still with Nicole, right?" The rock-man asked, clearing his glasses away.

"Yeah."

Larry whistled. "The laziest person in Elmore and the scariest girl in the country… That's gonna be one heck of a baby. They're gonna be raiding the fridge and karate-chopping anyone who tries to stop them!"

"Yeah, well, we'll see." Steve adjusted the straps of his dress.

"Have they thought of any names yet?"

"I have no idea. I only found out she was pregnant this evening, and I think they found out earlier this week. They didn't mention it last weekend."

"Let's hope not… You two had to carry her out of here." Larry recalled, chuckling to himself. "I bet you any money it's either going to be named after a famous person or some food."

The cloud-hippy snorted. "No way Nicole would let him name it 'Hotdog' or something."

"Well, we've got nine months to find out."

"No, man, I mean, Ricky always told me he'd name their first kid after me. So, like, we would always be hanging out together, even when I'm not there. And I told him that if _I _ever had a kid-"

Larry drew up a chair behind the bar and sat down opposite Steve. "_Are _you going to have children in the future?"

The cloud sighed. "I don't know. Anyway, if I had a kid I was gonna name it after him, so we'd always be hanging out, even if we stopped talking."

"Did you remind him about all this last night?"

"No, I forgot." Steve admitted. "The pregnancy news was heavy enough, man. They probably wouldn't have wanted me jumping on them about blood pacts we made in middle school already. Maybe when she's further along, I'll casually slip it into a conversation. You know, mind control and manipulation and everything."

"Pfft."

"I'm serious, man! You can really mess with people's heads."

Larry rolled his eyes. "Just let them be in charge of naming it."

"How's things with Karen?" Steve asked.

"Everything's fine. I wish I could see her more often, though… Work's making that really difficult." The bartender sighed.

"There's an easy solution to that problem."

"There is?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, man. Just tell her what shifts you do in bars and she can tag along. Sit with you for moral support, you know?"

"That won't work. The bosses would hate it, and Karen is _not _the kind of girl who's into seedy places like this."

Steve gasped, placing his hand on his heart. "This place? Seedy? How very _dare _you!"

"Look around you." Larry gestured across the room with a polygonal finger. "Does this really scream five-star establishment?"

The hippy did as instructed. Sure, the broken lighting and messy tables were more haunted house than deep house, and it stank of sweat, but the people there were still having a good time. The dancers on stage still danced, and those in the audience still cheered. Just as Steve turned back around, another Elmorean sat down next to him. A man of rainbow fuzz, with a thick blue moustache.

"Ladies…" He smirked, nodding towards Steve and Larry in turn. "Can I get some whisky, Larry?"

"Coming right up." The rock-man went back into shift autopilot mode, leaving the other two sitting at the bar alone for now."

"Harold?" Steve spoke, dumbfounded. "What are _you _doing in a place like this?"

"I'm not here." He grinned, putting a wad of bills down the front of Steve's dress. "It's Rachel. She had another tantrum, and I'm just so sick of it… I'm starting to think she'll never grow out of it. She's too much for me to handle."

"So… If you're here, then who's looking after her tonight"

"Oh, I left her with Jackie." Harold spoke casually.

"Not cool, man." Steve chided.

"Hey, it's not just Rachel I'm sick of. Jackie's so moody when she's pregnant…"

Steve's jaw dropped. "She's pregnant, too? Larry, can you _believe _this?"

"Believe what?" Larry asked, sliding the freshly-made drink over to the rainbow-being.

The hippy jerked a thumb sideways. "Harold ditched his infant daughter and his pregnant wife to go drinking!"

Larry shook his head. "I expected better from you, but you really haven't changed since school. Always chasing after Nicole, treating her badly…"

"Nicole? Have you heard from her recently?" Harold's eyes lit up.

Steve groaned.

"I wonder if she's still with that lazy tub of lard… She could do _so_ much better."

Steve's head hit the table.

"Hey Larry, what's up with him?" Harold motioned towards the moping cloud-man.

The bartender chose to ignore that question and cut straight to the point. "You missed your chance. She's pregnant with Richard's baby. Now you can stop fantasising about her and concentrate on caring for your _own _partner for once."

Harold snorted. "Really? Well, good luck to her. Let's see how raising a kid with someone who refuses to tie his shoelaces by himself works out for her. Psycho's gonna snap after a week, kill the both of them and set her house on fire."

"Hey!" Steve yelled, giving him a dirty look. "She'd do a much better job of raising a kid than _you!" _

"And what would _you _know about raising children?"

The cloud-man's eyes widened, showing genuine hurt. "You'd really come to a gay bar and say something like that?"

Harold leaned over until he was breathing down Steve's neck. "I'll _say _whatever I want to say."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Larry made a time-out gesture. "Either calm down or take this outside! If you damage anything, it's coming out of my paycheck…"

Steve did some deep breathing techniques while Harold downed the rest of his shot. The rainbow man banged his glass on the table, but not with enough force to shatter it. Larry wordlessly slid him another drink. All three were miserable. The show was winding down now, and the dancers had been replaced with a concerningly young-looking orange puppet DJing. He'd slipped in with a fake ID, and would be mixing tracks for the people still on the dancefloor until the early hours of the morning.

"We've both got to move on." Steve mumbled with his head in his hands. "You have your family to care for, and I have my own life to sort out."

Harold took a long time to respond. "Yeah… I came here because if Jackie sent the gardener out to find me, this is the _last _place they'd look. But the longer I sit here, the guiltier I feel…"

"You should try and find the things that you enjoy in life. There are hardships, like your child misbehaving, but you have a wife who cares about you, and you have a lot of money, so you don't have to worry about going hungry. Use that money to do things that would make you happy as a family. It'll be hard at first, but when your kids are older, they'll thank you for being a good father. Start small and work your way up to bigger things. You'll feel a lot better, and you'll forget all about Nicole, too."

Harold stared at him in amazement, sobering up. "Where did _that _come from?"

"… I don't know. I guess I'm trying to distract myself from thinking about their baby." Steve shrugged.

"You're making me think about all this different. That's the best advice I've ever gotten from anyone, and you don't want to _know _how much money I've spent on therapists over the years."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Steve." He put a hand on Steve's shoulder and smiled. "I'm sorry about earlier."

The cloud-man brushed his hand away. "It's all cool, man. I forgive you. It's much better to forgive than hold grudges."

"See, there you go again! You should be a therapist. You've got good advice coming out of your ears. Next weekend, I'm taking my family to Daisyland."

"I'm happy to hear that. By the way, when you get back, tell your wife Nicole's pregnant too. Maybe she could teach her a few things, you know?" Steve suggested before shaking his head. "Scratch that. I'll leave it up to Nicole. I'll mention it the next time I see here. I need to apologise for what I did last night anyway."

Harold raised an eyebrow. "What you did last night?"

"I was hanging with Ricky and Nicole when they told me. I didn't know how to react, so I just bounced… I can't believe I did that."

"Hey, you reacted better than I would have." Harold admitted begrudgingly. "And didn't you just say it's better to forgive than hold grudges? They'll understand. Probably."

"Yeah…" Steve agreed. "We've been through worse before. Our friendship isn't gonna shatter over this baby. I won't let it."

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**A/N: So what did you think? Leave a review and let me know. Faves and follows are always appreciated. Until next time... - Lynne**


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